Public Inquiry urged for Belfast City Runway extension

The Green Party in Northern Ireland are urging MLA's (Member of the Legislative Assembly) to vote in favour of a public inquiry into the proposed runway extension at Belfast City Airport. When the matter comes up for discussion tomorrow it will be the first time that a planning issue will have been debated at the Assembly. Local residents groups in East Belfast are opposed to the extension. Meanwhile, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, speaking on the BBC NI program 'Spotlight' two weeks ago, said that he was "fairly satisfied" that the Northern Ireland Planning Office would approve the extension. Extending the runway at Belfast City is crucial to Ryanair's ambitions in Northern Ireland as MTOW at the airport is currently limited by the runway length.